Time for a comeback. Hang on for the ride, folks.

(1) Masculine Speech -If you aren't aware, females and males in Japan use slightly different words from one another when referring to 'I', themselves, etc. This can help in identifying someone's gender or sex. (ie. Boku, Ore, Atashi, etc...)

-X-

Chapter Seven: Trial

-X-

My keys jingled as I inserted the key to my mailbox into the slot. Two envelopes greeted me: one from the bank, and a hydro bill. Once in the elevator, I pressed my floor and waited silently for the flashing numbers to ascend. The woman beside me got off at 17, and I was alone as I descended upwards toward 26 without any additional stops. I was tired, so I just let myself zone out for a while, leaning casually on the wall of the elevator and closing my eyes. The gentle rumble of my personal cubicle cradled me like a baby, lulling me to sleep, making me uncomfortably aware of how sore I was from all the walking and working my limbs had gone through...

My sore eyes flickered upwards, meeting the digital '22' on display, I wasn't able to stop my thoughts from wandering to the old man I had met the other day. I slicked my tongue across my front teeth and let slip a little grimace. The elevator doors opened, but it didn't derail my train of thought, musing back on the eeriness of the situation, the extremely rare probability that I could land on the same floor as him while being chased-

I scowled, unlocking my door and pushing into my space. I shuffled my shoes off and dropped my keys on the counter top, tossing my bag off onto the couch. I set the cupcakes down on my counter, wondering briefly if I should put them in the fridge and just eat them by myself.

But then I had a better idea.

-X-

"Hey."

L dug his hands deep into his denim pockets, hiding himself behind the doorframe of a room down the hall, where the guest at the entrance couldn't see him. Watari had answered the door when they had seen who it was with the cameras. Besides, L had been watching the mysterious specimen ever since he first strolled into the building holding a container of cupcakes.

And there he was, at their door, holding that exact same container.

"Mr... Sveinson, if I do recall?"

"Impressive memory, Mr. Watari." L could hear the smile behind his words, poking fun at Watari's old age.

"What brings you here at this time of night?" It was 22:00, not that L was even close to going to sleep.

"I happened to be baking earlier, and I thought I'd bring you a batch, as a thank you for the other day." The young detective shifted the balance of his weight onto the other foot. "I hope that's okay. I don't want to come off as forceful or anything, but there's no way a simple thank you was gonna cut it."

Watari chuckled, and L heard the crackling transfer of flimsy plastic between strong hands. "My, that is very thoughtful of you, Sveinson-san. Do you bake often?"

"Sometimes." L nibbled on his lip. That was a lie.

"Just call me Ray; Sveinson sounds really awkward in Japanese," came naturally from his tenor voice. Now that all L could hear was his voice, he was aware of how high it was for a man's voice who would no longer go through puberty. It sounded a tad higher for a man, which wasn't that uncommon for many males in Japan, but...

"Ray-san," Watari obliged, "Thank you very much. I would invite you to come in, but... It is rather untidy at the moment."

"No need. I just came to deliver," the guest quipped. "I'll be heading back. Thanks again for helping me out. The cops haven't even come to ask my questions. You must have taken care of it well. Thanks so much."

L's lips tugged upwards. Acting clueless, with a bold hint of accusation and suspicion. This student certainly didn't play it entirely safe.

"Invite him out," L whispered into the microphone. "Tomorrow, or some other day."

"Just a moment, Ray-san," Watari stopped him from leaving, and there was a slight pause. "Perhaps not at this time of day, but at a later time of your convenience, would you like to meet for coffee or lunch?"

"... Coffee or lunch..." L wouldn't have heard this mutter if not for the microphone attached to Watari, transmitting their conversation to his earpiece. "Sure. Why not? I have midterms now through Friday, so how about Friday afternoon? Two p.m. sound alright?"

"Two p.m. sounds fantastic," Watari agreed. "We can meet downstairs in the lobby."

"Perfect," he proclaimed, dashing away to the stairways.

Watari shut the door quietly and L emerged from his room. He glided to his desk and flickered the massive screens on again, displaying his guest heading back to his room. Watari settled the cupcakes on the coffee table.

"Perfect," L agreed.

-X-

Three days had passed quite quickly, and I was done my midterms so the stress was more or less off my shoulders. Now all I had to do was wait for the teachers to mark and for them to post the marks.

"Do you wear a suit everywhere you go?" was my first reaction as I saw Watari making his way to the lobby. It was quite amusing that he was wearing his suit yesterday at home, and something told me that he hadn't just returned home after a business party.

Watari chuckled, and did not answer. He gestured with his arm for me to start walking. "After you."

"And I would take up your offer if I only knew where we were headed."

"This is the entire essence," he said, "of spontaneity."

I crossed my arms and couldn't help but shoot a brow up. The lobby was full of people Saturday morning, and a tour group was just heading in through the main doors at the very hour. The building was both an apartment space and hotel. With a crack of a smile, I waved for him to follow.

"After me, then, old man."

There was a 'coffee shop' down two blocks away that had served me quite well the past few days. It was a medium-sized, sweet smelling shop with red blue and silver decorations already strung up for the Holidays. They served snacks and meals as well, and I was quite hungry for their cakes and biscuits. They were unlike American coffee shops where you go up to order at the counter, because they were basically a restaurant based mainly on drinks and snacks than an actual coffee shop. I had visited a few Taiwanese and Hong Kong style places in America, and found them quite similar to each other. I hadn't had a chance in Japan to explore and see if the rest of the coffee shop were all this.

"Not bad?" I quipped, as the waiter greeted us and took us a to far table.

"Nothing of the sort," he confirmed. The waiter gently set down the menus and courteously left us alone to consider.

Just then, a figure walked through the doors, dressed warmly in a winter coat. The man sat down several tables away, at a side profile from us. He kept his gaze lowered and strummed his fingers on the tabletop, waiting to be properly greeted. I strained my eyes a bit to see that his fingers were pale and slender. He didn't go out much. Perhaps he was a sheltered, ill-type of character.

I quickly refocused. However, despite my initial suspicions for Watari, I could feel my guard going down. Could it really be that I was just paranoid? Sure, maybe I was missing out some details, but in the end, he had helped me from those thugs. Who was I to doubt his intentions just because he told a few lies to cover up what might just be an inconvenient truth-

"I am prepared to order, Ray-san," Watari said, drawing my attention back, his gaze harder and more tense than usual. I nodded, and I said that I was ready.

The waiter went to the mysterious looking man at the table and took down his order first. We also ordered with a kind-looking lady and when she went away, I wasted no time starting a conversation to try and distract me from the man I found so... enigmatic.

"I was surprised when you invited me out, Mr. Watari." I was careful to keep my tone of voice from being too sour. "I would assume your intentions are more than to exchange idle raillery over coffee?"

"You are mistaken, Ray-san," he proclaimed, "that is precisely why I invited you out."

I cracked a smile. "I hope you're joking. I only said that because I've been waiting to say 'raillery' out loud."

Our waiter brought our drinks and placed them gently on the table. Watari muttered a polite thank you. We had both ordered teas, even though I had such a sweet tooth - I was trying to break the habit. His cup of earl grey came with a little teapot, just like my jasmine green tea.

"This is quite delectable," Watari assured, taking a long sip from his drink.

"You should try their holiday drinks," I encouraged, picking up the stand-up menu on the table. "This one in particular is really unique - and this one too! You barely even notice it, but there's a touch of mint added in their hot chocolate, and the balance in their pumpkin spice is just top-notch."

Watari chuckled. "You possess quite the avid admiration for sweets, I take it."

I smirked. "You take it quite right."

"I know someone quite similar to you," he went on, "and although I care for him dearly, I do sometimes wonder how his body functions on so..."

There. Right then, the man sitting across the room snapped to look at me, and his lips had the slightest of movement. He was talking. To who? Did he look at me just coincidentally, or was something happening? I couldn't see him clearly from such a distance...

What was happen-

"Mr. Sveinson?" Watari lowered his hand from his ear.

"Oh!" I coughed into my sleeve, embarrassed for my lack of attention. "I was just a bit distracted. I'm sorry."

I wouldn't look over there again. What was wrong with me? Watari's features showed that he was more than understanding. "Please go on. This friend of yours who likes sweets? You said he-"

Clang! Watari winced slightly from the sound of the porcelain spoon falling from Mystery Man's table.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. Mystery Man turned away.

I leaned back in my seat, letting the chair creak slightly, and sighed.

"Mr. Watari... I hope you know that I regard you quite reverently."

"I am honored, Mr. Sveinson. I can truthfully reply that I feel similarly towards yourself."

"I believe you, Mr. Watari, so let's get to the point." I crossed my arms onto the tabletop, quite impatient and upset. "What do you want with me?"

The wind-chimes at the front of the store jangled brightly as another customer walked in. She greeted the barista familiarly, and leaned over to show him something on her phone.

"You caught on just as quickly as we had expected, Mr. Sveinson." The compliment did little to soothe how upset I was.

Mystery Man was still turned away from me, and I pursed my lips into a firm scowl. If my suspicions were correct, he was feeding information to Watari through an earpiece. Someone Watari's age must have had worse hearing than I, and with that man sitting at such a far distance, for the gentlest of clangs to make Watari wince, it was obvious that he was 'listening' at a fair closer distance than usual.

"You better start explaining yourself right now," I leaned my upper body forward menacingly, "before I decide to really find out myself what this is all about."

Ting-a-ling, ting, ting, ting...The metal wind-chimes reflected bits of caught sunlight onto the walls. Watari's fingers extended to grasp his cup for a sip.

"Sveinson Rayne-san," he held the pause, voice sounding a bit more uncertain than his usual courteous assertiveness, "you-"

My ringtone sounded. I forced an aggravated sigh from my nostrils, and took my phone out from my sweater pocket. A scan of the caller ID told me it was an unknown number. "You were just about to say...?" I hung up without a second thought, eyes downwards as I buried it back into my pocket.

"Sveinson Rayne-san," he sounded confident this time, and I frowned. Was he stalling because he was trying to listen to receive information from Mystery Man? My phone call has just given him enough time to receive it fully. Just as my prediction registered, Mystery Man got up from his seat and began shuffling to the door. My voice got caught in my throat as I got ready to get up and shout for him to stop-

"My employer has taken an interest in you."

My lips parted, and a breathe escaped.

"Your employer," I repeated. "Well you can tell your employer that I'm not fond of attention, and that I'd really prefer if that interest turned into a disinterest... Now."

"I suspect that your impression of both myself and my employer are less than admiration," Watari took another sip of his tea. I licked my lips and reached out to take a long chug of my own cup, setting it down on the table with a loud bang when I was done, and I poured myself another cup.

"Well, are you going to tell me who your employer is?"

"I'm afraid I was given specific instructions not to disclose his identity."

"That's not all you're going to be afraid of if you don't spill everything right now."

"Alas, it is not under my jurisdiction to reveal everything right now to you, Ray-san."

I grit my teeth, jaw tight with vexation and anger boiling in the pit of my stomach. I parted my lips to speak, only to silence myself. I blew out a stream of air and calmed myself. I was getting worked up again. Calm down. You need to think straight.

"Did you also invite me to coffee today... under the orders of your... 'employer'?"

"That is correct."

"What the fuck," I hissed under my breath, scoffing. Watari regarded me, and I could tell that he was considering his words. Or maybe he was listening to his employer through the earpiece. I glowered.

"I'd like to give you a test, Ray-san."

"A test?" I repeated scornfully. "And is this you or your so-called 'employer' speaking?"

"My employer has requested that I relay the message: does it matter?" I chuckled.

"A test. Great. Do I need paper and pen, or is this an oral presentation of some sort? How about a powerpoint? I've never actually made a powerpoint before, so that'd definitely be a test for me."

They paid no heed to my sarcasm, and by 'they', I meant both Watari and his employer. And maybe Mystery Man, unless Mystery Man was the employer...

Watari grinned, and I narrowed my gaze. "If you are able to pass the test, my employer has agreed that he will... 'tell you everything', as he puts it."

"Everything. I like the way that sounds, but," I leaned forward and took another sip of my drink, just to draw out a dramatic pause, "how do I know you'll keep your word? Seems to me like you know a lot more about me than I know about either you or your... Do I have to keep calling him your employer?"

"..." I waited for the man on the other end of the earpiece to speak to Watari. "My employer informs that 'friend' would also be most appropriate."

I smiled cheekily to myself, disbelieving that I was still in this guy's presence. A month ago I might have lost patience and dragged him into a back alley to interrogate. Whoever Watari and his employer was, they were powerful - powerful enough for the National Police Agency in Japan to recognize and back off.

"Your friend..." Nodding to myself, I took another sip, and heaved a sigh. "So what's the test?"

"The test is..." Watari listened carefully, and a smile escaped on his pale lips. I tilted my head, anticipating.

"To find who is on the other end of my earpiece within the next 48 hours."

I frowned.

"There are over 50 million people in Tokyo, and you want me to find one person in the next 48 hours with absolutely no lead?" I scoffed. "And your friend might not even be in Japan, he could be in Australia or Britain for all I know."

Watari took another gentle sip of his tea while waiting for instructions. "Would you like to speak to him?"

"What?" Watari pulled out his phone and slowly pressed away at it, before handing me the device. I glanced at the screen, but there was no picture, and the screen name was literally 'Friend'. I shot Watari an unimpressed look, and then held the phone up to my ear, listening to the dial tone.

Click. "Hello."

I scoffed. Even the voice was disguised as a high-pitched chipmunk. "Hello, friend of Watari. I kind of hate you."

I could practically hear the bemused tone on the other end. "That tone of voice certainly isn't going to earn you an easy hint."

I smirked into the device, and leaned back, feeling strangely curious and mischievous, and not too mad - yet. "What happens if I don't find out who you are?"

"Then I won't stop my interest in you." The person on the other end was using masculine speech (1), so I dared to predict that he was male. I made a mental note to not ignore the fact that he or she might just be faking it, though.

"Is that a nicer way of saying that you'll stop stalking me?" I remarked, half joking. Watari cracked a smile, and I frowned. "Wait, are you stalking me?"

"I'd prefer to call it... Investigating."

I grumbled, hopefully inaudibly, and I cleared my throat. "So, Watari's Friend, are you going to give me a hint or not?"

"I already did."

"... You already did. Fantastic." I glared, wishing he was present to see it. Or maybe he was: was it my own paranoia or did that black front screw in Watari's glasses look more like a little camera lens? "Well, I'd like a better one. Tell me your name."

There was a silence on the other end, and what I heard to be a chair's squeak. "Fine, just your first name. I'm not gonna play along if I don't feel like I have a fair chance."

"My first name is one in twenty-six." What? "And I'll correct you, Sveinson-san. This is not a game that you are playing along to. This is a test."

"Right. That if I pass, you tell me everything, and if I fail, you'll continue to be interested in me. Are you sure this isn't a really round-about way of asking me out?"

"It's only drastic because you're unaware of just what I've been able to find out about you due to my interest."

"... What do you mean?"

"Or rather, what I haven't been able to find out about you, Sveinson Rayne. If that really is who you are. You've hidden your past quite well, but you made one mistake."

I heard clanging sounds, similar to what you'd hear when you put a tea cup or metal utensil on a plate. "You caught my interest."

"I'll see you tonight!" The girl speaking to the barista, who entered earlier, pecked him once on the lips and skipped out of the store, leaving the boy red faced and smiling bashfully to himself.

"You're keeping your composure quite well for someone who I've noticed to be quite fiery."

"I'm going to find you," I spat without hesitation. "I'm not playing your stupid game, but I'm going to pinpoint exactly where you are, because you need to be taught a lesson about minding your own fucking business."

I heard the clanging noise again, and I supposed he was eating. I genuinely hoped for him to choke.

"Your test starts now."

"See you in 48 hours."

I hung up.

End of Chapter Seven.

-X-

A shorter chapter, but it was a good way for me to warm up back into the story. My literate abilities have been at a standstill for an entire year, so I know that this chapter was thoroughly lacking, but I hope it's good little tickle: I'm here, guys! I'm still alive!

It's been a while, hasn't it? Well since my laptop broke down, I bought a new one, got back into art, got really really involved in my community and school... it was hard for me to stay loyal to my online community, especially to my readers - mix that in with a little bit of writers block and lack of motivation, and you've got yourself some serious thinking to do if you really want to return. University Applications are coming up right away, so this entire past year has been really important to my academics! With all my tryhard-ness, it was hard to balance this and my life.

If you didn't already know, I read every single review. Every. Single. One. I get notified of all alerts, favorites, and reviews the minute it happens. (And believe me, the emails for the past year have struck a guilt chord in me every time - and for good reason. I'm really terrible to you guys...)

Sometimes Life gets in the way. I won't apologize for being away.

But I will apologize for leaving you guys unaware for so long. You guys deserve better than that. I truly am sorry, and I really hope to finish the stories I have on here before my next great hiatus.

Thanks for reading, and it's great to be back (: